A couple of months ago, the crew from Saracen sent through an invitation for us to come join them down at Revolution Bike Park in North Wales. Word on the street was that we’d be seeing the brand new long-travel Ariel, along with a few other secrets that Saracen had tucked up its sleeve.

Arriving at Revolution Bike Park on a stunning sunny summer’s day (it was my first time at Revs, and I was promptly informed that the this weather was not to be expected), we were greeted by an impressive setup from the the Madison Saracen World Cup downhill team, who were settling in for a week of riding and testing on the new Myst 29er prototype downhill bike.

Simon Wild shows off his latest creation; the 2018 Ariel LT.

After ogling at the custom CNC alloy linkages that Saracen’s lead engineer, Ryan, was busy bolting up to a Myst carbon frameset, everyone gathered around to get a closer look at the all-new Ariel.

Many UK mountain bikers would be familiar with the current Ariel, which has been in the Saracen lineup for a good while now with few changes over the last couple of seasons. The reason for the Ariel’s recent stagnation? Saracen had been working on a whole new frameset, and one with completely new geometry, an all-new frame shape, and a suspension design borrowed from the Myst downhill bike.

Available in two versions for 2018 (one with a full carbon frame, the other with a carbon swingarm and alloy mainframe), the new Ariel rolls on 27.5in wheels with clearance for up to 2.6in rubber. With 165mm of plush travel and a big ol’ wheelbase, it’s an All Mountain/Enduro bike that slots into Saracen’s range between the 130mm travel Kili Flyer trail bike, and the 203mm travel Myst downhill bike.

Saracen went big with the new Ariel LT, which features an almost identical carbon mainframe to the current Myst downhill bike.

Suspension travel is delivered via the single pivot suspension design, which uses a floating rocker linkage to compress the rear shock. Fork travel has also gone up to 170mm, and the geometry has been slackened to match. The Ariel now features a 65° head angle, with longer reach measurements across the board (415mm – Small, 440mm – Medium, 465mm – Large, 490mm – Extra Large). Each frame size is designed around a 45mm long stem. The Ariel frame is 1x specific, uses Boost hub spacing front and rear, and utilises large sealed cartridge bearings throughout its suspension linkage.

All up, it’s a substantially bigger, bolder, and badder beast that has shifted its focus further towards descending capability over climbing efficiency.

Want to hear more about how the changes make the Ariel handle on the trail? Then check out Chipps’ first ride review here, after he tested a prototype Ariel Elite during the Lowepro, No Fuss Fort William Enduro back in July, along with my first ride impressions of both the alloy and carbon frames.

The new Ariel LT is a 165mm travel All Mountain beast. Oh, don’t dig the tanwalls? Saracen will include a second set of all-black Maxxis DHR II tyres in the box with the bike. Nice!

The carbon model gets a Fox Float X2 rear shock, which provides incredible damping support for high-speed bombing.Fork travel ups to 170mm.The Ariel runs a 65° head angle, and each frame size is designed around a 45mm stem.The carbon frame uses an oversized headtube with reach-adjustable cups. The stock cups are a 0mm offset, though +5mm and -5mm cups are included for fine-tuning the reach measurement.The carbon swingarm updates to Boost 148x12mm spacing, and features rubber anti-slap protection on the driveside.The Ariel Elite packs all the same updates into a cheaper spec with an alloy mainframe.

Fox Float DPX2 rear shock.Carbon one-piece swingarm is the same on both Ariel models. Wide-range Shimano cassettes as standard.The Kili Flyer X Carbon remains in the lineup for 2018, and is available as a standalone frameset with a Fox Float DPS Kashima rear shock.

2018 Saracen Kili Flyer X Features

Full carbon fibre frame

130mm rear travel

Fox Float DPS Factory Series rear shock

Designed for a 130mm travel fork

Head angle: 67°

Seat angle: 73°

Chainstay length: 430mm

Available sizes: Small, Medium, Large, X-Large

Frame RRP: £2199

The new Kili Flyer Elite with its all-black Fox suspension package and internally-routed dropper post.

While this one isn’t quite ready for production just yet, Saracen had a pretty well finished prototype of the new Traverse 29in trail bike. Apparently there’s been some to’ing and fro’ing on the purpose of this bike, though the current prototype has settled on 100mm of rear travel and the ability to run 100-120mm of travel up front, depending on what kind of geometry the rider wants to go for. We’re keen to hear more about this one, as well as any other 29ers that Saracen may have in the pipeline…

For more details, stay tune to saracen.co.uk and for more behind the scenes looks at the Saracen range, check out this issue of Singletrack Magazine where we were given unprecedented access to Saracen’s factories and design processes.